Cameras, cameras, cameras...

Please forgive the geekery - here are 7 cameras that we love:

3 - 7

Bell & Howell Filmo 70-DA (16mm) - circa 1940

This is the oldest camera that we use and it has a wonderful pedigree. It was the personal camera of Sydney Gilliat - a great British writer, director and producer (he wrote some of Hitchcock's early films).

Bell & Howell film cameras were made in the USA have tank-like durability - this made them very popular with the press and the military from the 1920s right through to the 1970s.

This one's equipped with some very sought-after Taylor-Hobson Cooke prime lenses.

It only accepts 16mm 2r film which is practically impossible to get hold of today.

Luckily I have a nice little stock-pile of it in my freezer.

Bell & Howell Filmo 70-DR (16mm) - 1955

This is the first 16mm camera that I ever bought and we now have several of them, it's very similar to the 70-DA, but takes regular 16mm film so we can use it more often.

It has a 216 degree shutter, which means it lets in lots light for each frame - so it's especially good in dim conditions.

Again, it's equipped with beautiful Taylor-Hobson Cooke prime lenses.

Bolex H16 Reflex (16mm) - 1960

This stunning camera was made in Switzerland with Swiss-watch-like precision.

It's a work of art with more leather and chrome than a late 90s bachelor pad.

We use it with a mix of Kern, Cooke and Schneider prime lenses.

Braun Nizo 6080 (Super 8) - 1980-1982

One of the last super 8 cameras ever made, this camera is packed with very clever electronics.

There are 2 reasons why this one is usually in my camera bag: It's great in low-light and it's very, very quiet so it's far less obtrusive in quieter moments.

Beaulieu 6008s (Super 8) - 1979-1983

A really fancy camera, it has a more advanced viewfinder and metering system than any other super 8 camera.

It accepts the same lenses as our 16mm cameras which is a very useful feature.

Braun Nizo 561 Macro (Super 8) - 1976-1980

My personal favourite - it's like a Swiss-Army camera (but German).

As well as producing great images in normal use, it has fantastically useful features such as slow-motion and long-exposure time-lapse (so we can shoot in the dark!).

Zeiss Ikon Moviflex G S8 (Super 8) - 1970-1972

Hardcore camera geeks will tell you this camera produces the very best image of any 8mm camera… and it does. It's a master-class in engineering and optics.

In some ways it's a relatively simple camera, but it cost the same as a brand new Austin Mini in 1970.